South Omaha Times

The VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System ranked 63rd among VA health care systems with 55,807 pending appointments across its 12 locations during the period ending Oct. 1, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in January 2019 reported wait times for new appointments at VA health care facilities were similar to or better than wait times at private-sector providers between 2014 and 2017.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), however, released a report in July 2019 cautioning the VA’s data-tracking system only captures part of the appointment process and fails to account for the time that it takes the VA to enroll veterans in its health benefits program.

Debra Draper, health care director at the GAO, told the House Veterans Affairs Committee new patients may actually wait up to 70 days for an appointment when they first enroll for benefits.

The VA explains that when veterans apply for benefits, they are assigned to one of eight priority groups, with those need immediate care due to service-related disabilities placed in higher priority groups. Veterans who don’t have service-connected disabilities and who earn a higher income are placed in the lower priority groups.

Rank	Health Care System	Total Pending Appointments Scheduled
1	Orlando VAMC	202,056
2	North Florida/South Georgia VA HCS	190,933
3	VA Bay Pines HCS	168,740
4	Tennessee Valley HCS	168,388
5	VA North Texas HCS	160,732
6	Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC	159,595
7	James A. Haley VA Hospital	157,746
8	VA Central Texas HCS	156,277
9	VA South Texas HCS	155,709
10	W. G. Hefner VA MC	152,303
11	Michael E. DeBakey VAMC	146,666
12	VA Atlanta HCS	140,842
13	VA Caribbean HCS	123,286
14	VA Phoenix HCS	118,057
15	VA Loma Linda HCS	108,835
16	Hunter Holmes McGuire Richmond VAMC	105,947
17	Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn VAMC	101,907
18	VA Northern California HCS	101,603
19	Birmingham VAMC	96,903
20	Durham VAMC	95,858
21	VA Central Arkansas HCS	94,870
22	West Palm Beach VAMC	94,806
23	Fayetteville VAMC	94,723
24	Mountain Home VAMC	92,150
25	VA Miami HCS	91,630
26	VA Southern Nevada HCS	91,022
27	VA Greater Los Angeles HCS	88,841
28	Ralph H. Johnson VAMC	84,762
29	Oklahoma City VAMC	81,275
30	VA Gulf Coast Veterans HCS	79,612
31	Milwaukee VAMC	78,978
32	VA Long Beach HCS	78,164
33	Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital	77,030
34	VA Minneapolis HCS	76,819
35	Robley Rex VAMC	75,474
36	VA Eastern Colorado HCS	75,117
37	Harry S. Truman Memorial VA Hospital	73,771
38	VA Southern Arizona HCS	72,779
39	VA Pittsburgh HCS	71,842
40	Kansas City VAMC	70,391
41	VA Southeast Louisiana HCS	70,153
42	Hampton VAMC	69,841
43	VA New Mexico HCS	68,621
44	Memphis VAMC	68,321
45	Syracuse VAMC	67,925
46	Salem VAMC	67,558
47	Lebanon VAMC	65,339
48	VA Boston HCS	64,452
49	Philadelphia VAMC	63,827
50	Richard L. Roudebush VAMC	60,839
51	VA Connecticut HCS	60,745
52	John D. Dingell VAMC	60,439
53	VA Ann Arbor HCS	60,077
54	VA of the Ozarks HCS	59,799
55	Providence VAMC	58,716
56	VA San Diego HCS	58,307
57	Dayton VAMC	58,086
58	Muskogee VAMC	57,692
59	Cincinnati VAMC	56,844
60	VA Central Alabama HCS	56,190
61	Overton Brooks VAMC	56,174
62	Montgomery VAMC	56,142
63	VA Nebraska-Western Iowa HCS	55,807
64	Carl Vinson VAMC	55,465
65	Portland VAMC	54,850
66	VA Northern Indiana HCS	52,367
67	Charlie Norwood VAMC	52,353
68	St. Louis, MO VAMC	51,682
69	Chalmers P. Wylie Ambulatory VA HCS	51,326
70	Battle Creek VAMC	50,303
71	Charles George VAMC	50,197
72	VA Western New York at Buffalo HCS	50,078
73	VA Eastern Kansas HCS	49,631
74	Marion VAMC	49,463
75	VA Texas Valley Coastal Bend HCS	49,021
76	VA New Jersey HCS	48,727
77	Wilkes-Barre VAMC	46,695
78	Hershel 'Woody' Williams VAMC	46,113
79	Robert J. Dole VAMC	45,453
80	VA Puget Sound HCS	45,308
81	VA Montana HCS	43,988
82	VA Maryland HCS	43,370
83	VA Amarillo HCS	43,180
84	VA El Paso HCS	41,714
85	VA Salt Lake City HCS	41,642
86	James E. Van Zandt Altoona VAMC	41,096
87	Jesse Brown VAMC	40,957
88	VA Iowa City HCS	40,636
89	VA Maine HCS	40,117
90	Albany Stratton VAMC	39,396
91	VA Palo Alto HCS	39,030
92	VA Alexandria HCS	38,757
93	Washington DC VAMC	38,614
94	Martinsburg VAMC	35,572
95	San Francisco VAMC	35,034
96	VA Pacific Islands HCS	34,506
97	Louis A. Johnson VAMC	34,318
98	VA St. Cloud HCS	33,908
99	VA NY Harbor HCS	32,207
100	VA Sierra Nevada HCS	31,853
101	Lexington VAMC	31,326
102	Wilmington VAMC	30,991
103	VA Illiana HCS	29,813
104	Aleda E. Lutz VAMC	29,454
105	Sioux Falls VAMC	28,983
106	Fargo VAMC	27,923
107	Chillicothe VAMC	27,765
108	VA Central Iowa HCS	27,543
109	VA Central California HCS	27,258
110	Madison VA Hospital	27,210
111	Erie VAMC	27,174
112	Northport Affairs VAMC	26,148
113	Roseburg VAMC	25,982
114	Poplar Bluff VAMC	25,770
115	VA Central Western Massachusetts HCS	25,335
116	Tomah VAMC	25,244
117	Bath VAMC	24,870
118	White River Junction VAMC	24,193
119	James J. Peters VAMC	24,035
120	VA Butler HCS	23,379
121	James A. Lovell Federal HCS	23,365
122	Boise VAMC	22,826
123	Manchester VAMC	22,169
124	Beckley VAMC	20,812
125	VA Northern Arizona HCS	20,361
126	VA Black Hills HCS	18,062
127	Tuscaloosa VAMC	16,113
128	VA Hudson Valley HCS	14,964
129	Coatesville VAMC	14,835
130	Spokane VAMC	14,542
131	Cheyenne VAMC	14,295
132	VA West Texas HCS	13,860
133	Oscar G. Johnson VAMC	13,567
134	Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VAMC	11,527
135	Grand Junction VAMC	10,254
136	Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA Hospital	10,104
137	Sheridan VAMC	6,604
138	VA Alaska HCS	5,471
139	Southern Oregon HCS	4,273

Source: U.S. Veteran’s Administration